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I was just watching an advert on TV for waste disposal units, the type for fitting under the kitchen sink.
The questions that came to me were:
Does anyone consider where all that kitchen waste goes?
Can the sewage treatment plants deal with all this undigested matter?
How much extra water gets used, just to flush this stuff down the pipes?
Should they be allowed?
better outlaw that darn garbage disposal! Everyone should get a couple hogs or some chickens to keep in the back yard............Actualy from the wastewater stand point the finely chewed waste from the disposal helps in the decomposition down stream in the digester. The things that really hurt the system are the old used rubbers and the tampon applicators and such stuff that gets flushed down the crapper. They plug up the screens!. Better outlaw those items as well.....................
How much extra water gets used, just to flush this stuff down the pipes?
Can't be much. You might run one these for 10 to 20 seconds a few times a day at which time you have the water on, that's the only extra water usage. I would guess you use a gallon or two per day at the most. I'd imagine one flush of the toilet is going to be much more water.
I'd also imagine they are good for the environment when you look at the big picture. You're putting mostly plant matter into it that is quite heavy because it's mostly water, this doesn't go into the garbage which would then need to be trucked to a landfill. You're saving a lot of fuel and conserving landfill space.
I was just watching an advert on TV for waste disposal units, the type for fitting under the kitchen sink.
The questions that came to me were:
Does anyone consider where all that kitchen waste goes?
Can the sewage treatment plants deal with all this undigested matter?
How much extra water gets used, just to flush this stuff down the pipes?
Should they be allowed?
How green are they?
In sink garbage disposals have been around for decades. Seriously, you ask "should they be allowed" ?
Do you just want the government to jump in and ban everything?
Yes, I know where mine will go....in my septic system. The one I paid to have installed and which I pay to maintain.
Should you be allowed to flush your feces? Because more of that goes down the drain than stuff from the kitchen sink.
I suppose that I should have posted this thread in the UK forums, but there is no Green Living forum there.
Over here the Sewerage infrastructure is quite often already unable to take any more of a load.
We are at the point of regularly either having hosepipe bans, or being threatened with them. Our waste water is already recycled in many instances, not a nice thought.
We have to separate out rubbish into: recyclable, glass, green waste ( including kitchen waste ), and un-recyclable bins, so there is already a collection in place to collect the kitchen waste. If we don’t separate, the waste is not collected.
Personally I put all my green waste in a number of compost bins, it takes at least 6 months to decompose, then I use it later on the vegetable patch.
It just seems that the kitchen waste disposal unit could be a somewhat counterproductive, but not in ways that to most would be apparent.
I accept that some have there own septic tank system, and are responsible for what goes into it, so are obviously more careful with what they put into it.
If the option is there, there will always be the temptation to dispose of inappropriate things by thoughtless people, many still see no problem with dumping used cooking oil, and engine oil down the drain!
As I say, just thoughts, I didn’t want to offend anyone.
@BECLAZONE, I'm glad you let us know you're in the UK. We tend to first think of how things work where we live.
I haven't used one so I can't vouch for them, but you can buy small composters meant for fast composting. They are meant for kitchens and claim to compost your food waste quickly.
Garbage disposals have been around since at least the 1950's, but why have that taking up space when you can compost? I never had one until I bought my current house, and I had it taken out last month. I think they are gross, they take up space, and I prefer to have a regular drain. I think garbage disposals are a waste of money. Just my opinion.
Oh yeah, ignore rude posters. There are some posters on here who are condescending and rude with 100% of their posts, but don't say anything to them because they are the first to whine to the moderators. Imagine that.
but why have that taking up space when you can compost?
The space is minimal and in most cases is going to be space you can't use anyway because it's where a pipe would be. Composting is fine which is what we are doing now because it's a septic tank and now have the room to compost but that is not something everyone can do,
@BECLAZONE, I'm glad you let us know you're in the UK. We tend to first think of how things work where we live.
I haven't used one so I can't vouch for them, but you can buy small composters meant for fast composting. They are meant for kitchens and claim to compost your food waste quickly.
Garbage disposals have been around since at least the 1950's, but why have that taking up space when you can compost? I never had one until I bought my current house, and I had it taken out last month. I think they are gross, they take up space, and I prefer to have a regular drain. I think garbage disposals are a waste of money. Just my opinion.
Oh yeah, ignore rude posters. There are some posters on here who are condescending and rude with 100% of their posts, but don't say anything to them because they are the first to whine to the moderators. Imagine that.
Thank you, I just thought it best for me to clarify the situation, and the reason for the questions, from where I am coming from.
I too have never used one, I don’t like the idea either.
There are enough problems with drains, without adding to them.
I do acknowledge in some situations they are needed, for hygiene purposes mainly.
As for the posters being condescending and rude, from my experience and knowledge standpoint, they have no grounds to be. I already knew the answers, but have no reason to get into an argument.
I rarely use my disposal unit and will not add one when I build the new house. Anything that can go into a garbage disposal can be dealt with in vermiculture composting with multiple benefits.
<shrug> Have used them in the past. They aren't really for putting tons of stuff down the drain, just getting rid of a few scraps that might already be in the sink. Of course some folks mis-use them, but they get to pay bigger plumber bills.
We throw most vegetable stuff off the back deck - literally. This fall we were graced with a volunteer pumpkin from some of the pumpkin innards from last year. The birds eat a lot of the stuff. You can't do stuff like this in the cities though.
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